Berry Tramel: KD on the court, Count Durantula on the screen

Kevin Durant on the big screen, at a downtown arena near you? Works. Works very well.

Kevin Durant on the silver screen? Uh, let me think about that one.

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) celebrates a three-pointer during game 7 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the OKC Arena in Oklahoma City, Sunday, May 15, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

The Thunder superstar is finalizing a deal to star in a major Warner Brothers film, according to our man Darnell Mayberry. I've got to say, I didn't see that coming.

Popular across the globe – get the Chinese subtitles ready – a Durant movie probably will sell. But my question for Hollywood is, what exactly do you do with Durant in a movie?

Russell Westbrook? Easy. A brooding James Dean plot should do the trick.

James Harden? Make him Grady in a film version of Sanford & Son, and away we go.

Scotty Brooks? Call in his pal Rumble, and you've got a Teen Wolf remake, with Rumble being the title character and Foreman Scotty handling the Michael J. Fox role.

Kendrick Perkins? Supervillain in the next Spiderman flick.

Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka? Some French love triangle, in which their friendship is threatened by a beautiful woman. Lots of anguish, lots of crying, lots of men asking why they ever let themselves get dragged to this movie.

Cole Aldrich? Sloth in Goonies 2 (what's taken so long!), reprising the role of another athlete, John Matuszak.

But Durant? I'm struggling.

I hope he doesn't play himself or someone like himself. That's no fun. Like Michael Jordan in “Space Jam.” Both Siskel and Ebert gave “Space Jam” thumbs up, but remember, they worked in Chicago, and this was 1996. Not exactly the time to be ripping Michael Jordan.

Julius Erving starred in “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh,” which over the last 30 years has grown some cult following. Dr. J wasn't great but wasn't embarrassing.

Ray Allen drew solid reviews for playing Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's “He Got Game.” If Durant signs on for a Spike Lee film, hold the projector. This might be something to see.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had that hilarious bit in “Airplane” but wasn't asked to carry an entire movie. Not with Leslie Nielsen around.

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by Berry Tramel

Columnist

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist. Tramel grew up reading four daily newspapers — The Oklahoman,...